Montenegro at the 2008 Summer Olympics
# Montenegro at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Montenegro competed as an independent nation for the first time at the Olympic Games at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Montenegro was the youngest nation to participate in the 2008 Summer Olympics. Athletes from Montenegro participated in three different events. In individual events, the new nation had representatives in boxing and shooting. Boxer Milorad Gajović represented his country in the heavyweight division, while Nikola Šaranović competed in 10 m air pistol and 50 m pistol precision shooting events. In team competition, Montenegro competed in water polo. The Montenegro national water polo team won the 2007 European Water Polo Olympic Qualification Tournament to qualify for the Olympic games.

Montenegro failed to win any medals, but did advance to the bronze medal match in men's water polo, where they lost to Serbia, 6-4.

## History

Montenegro created its National Olympic Committee in 2006, and gained International Olympic Committee recognition in 2007 during the IOC's meetings in Guatemala City. Previously, Montenegrin athletes competed as part of the Serbia and Montenegro team in 2004, and as part of Yugoslavia teams before that. Montenegro was also part of the Yugoslavian team in the 1992 Summer Olympics that participated as the Independent Olympic Participants. Following Montenegro's referendum to become a free nation, Serbia was declared the successor state and inherited the joint nation's National Olympic Committee. The admittance of Montenegro, along with Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands, brought the total number of nations that competed in the 2008 Olympics to 204.

## Athletics

### Key

* Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
* Q = Qualified for the next round
* q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
* NR = National record
* N/A = Round not applicable for the event
* Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

### Men

| Athlete | Event | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank |
| Goran Stojiljković | Marathon | 2:28:14 | 62 |

### Women

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Quarterfinal | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Milena Milašević | 100 m | 12.65 | 8 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Boxing

Milorad Gajović qualified in the heavyweight class at the second European continental qualifying tournament.

| Athlete | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Milorad Gajović | Heavyweight | Pavlidis (GRE) L 3–7 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Judo

| Athlete | Event | Preliminary | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Repechage 1 | Repechage 2 | Repechage 3 | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Srđan Mrvaljević | Men's −81 kg | Badra (TUN) W 0020–0010 | Nchama (GEQ) W 1011–0000 | Guo L (CHN) W 0111–0001 | Elmont (NED) L 0000–0010 | Did not advance | Bye | Nyamkhüü (MGL) L 0000–1002 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Shooting

Nikola Šaranović participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, at the age of 39. He ranked 40 in the Men's Air pistol 10 metres event. Šaranović also competed in the Men's Free Pistol 50 metres event, and ranked 44 overall. He did not earn any medals in the 2008 Summer Olympics, but went on to participate in both events again in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

### Men

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Points | Rank | Points | Rank |
| Nikola Šaranović | 10 m air pistol | 570 | 41 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Nikola Šaranović | 50 m pistol | 535 | 45 | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Swimming

Marina Kuč represented Montenegro in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. She ranked 31st in the preliminaries for the Women's 200m Breaststroke event with a finishing time of 2:31.24.

### Women

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank |
| Marina Kuč | 200 m breaststroke | 2:31.24 | 31 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Water polo

### Men's tournament

The national team qualified as one of the twelve teams in the men's tournament by winning the European qualifying tournament in September 2007. The team finished in fourth place.

**Roster**

The following is the Montenegrin roster in the men's water polo tournament of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

| № | Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Date of birth | Club |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Zdravko Radić | GK | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | 95 kg (209 lb) | 24 June 1979 | VK Primorac Kotor |
| 2 | Draško Brguljan | D | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) | 85 kg (187 lb) | 27 December 1984 | VK Primorac Kotor |
| 3 | Vjekoslav Pasković | D | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | 83 kg (183 lb) | 23 March 1985 | VK Primorac Kotor |
| 4 | Nikola Vukčević | CF | 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) | 107 kg (236 lb) | 14 November 1985 | PVK Jadran |
| 5 | Nikola Janović | D | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | 100 kg (220 lb) | 22 March 1980 | Posillipo Naples |
| 6 | Milan Tičić | CB | 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) | 95 kg (209 lb) | 14 August 1979 | PVK Budvanska rivijera |
| 7 | Mlađan Janović | D | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | 93 kg (205 lb) | 11 June 1984 | VK Primorac Kotor |
| 8 | Veljko Uskoković | D | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | 100 kg (220 lb) | 29 March 1971 | PVK Budvanska rivijera |
| 9 | Aleksandar Ivović | CB | 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) | 103 kg (227 lb) | 24 February 1986 | PVK Jadran |
| 10 | Boris Zloković | CF | 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) | 99 kg (218 lb) | 16 March 1983 | Posillipo Naples |
| 11 | Vladimir Gojković | D | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | 92 kg (203 lb) | 29 January 1981 | PVK Jadran |
| 12 | Predrag Jokić | CB | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | 92 kg (203 lb) | 3 February 1983 | Pro Recco |
| 13 | Miloš Šćepanović | GK | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | 88 kg (194 lb) | 9 October 1982 | PVK Jadran |

       Head coach: Petar Porobić

**Group play**

| Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Hungary | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 60 | 36 | +24 | 9 | Qualified for the semifinals |
| Spain | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 52 | 34 | +18 | 8 | Qualified for the quarterfinals |
| Montenegro | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 43 | 33 | +10 | 6 | Qualified for the quarterfinals |
| Australia | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 45 | 40 | +5 | 5 | Will play for places 7–10 |
| Greece | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 39 | 56 | −17 | 2 | Will play for places 7–12 |
| Canada | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 61 | −40 | 0 | Will play for places 7–12 |

All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8).

| 10 August 2008 10:50 | Report | Hungary | 10–10 | Montenegro | Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Margeta (SLO), Caputi (ITA) |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Margeta (SLO), Caputi (ITA) |||
| 10 August 2008 10:50 | Report | Dé. Varga 2, Kásás 2, Benedek 2 | Goals | M. Janović 4, Ivović 2, Gojković 2 | Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Margeta (SLO), Caputi (ITA) |
| 12 August 2008 9:30 | Report | Canada | 0–12 | Montenegro | Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Knights (NZL), Pinker (RSA) |
| Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Knights (NZL), Pinker (RSA) |||
| 12 August 2008 9:30 | Report | - | Goals | Vukčević 2, M. Janović 2, Gojković 2 | Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Knights (NZL), Pinker (RSA) |
| 14 August 2008 14:00 | Report | Montenegro | 10–6 | Greece | Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Tulga (TUR), Margeta (SLO) |
| Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Tulga (TUR), Margeta (SLO) |||
| 14 August 2008 14:00 | Report | M. Janović 2, Zloković 2, Gojković 2, Jokić 2 | Goals | Ntoskas 2 | Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Tulga (TUR), Margeta (SLO) |
| 16 August 2008 14:00 | Report | Spain | 12–6 | Montenegro | Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Chaney (USA), Tulga (TUR) |
| Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Chaney (USA), Tulga (TUR) |||
| 16 August 2008 14:00 | Report | Molina 3, F. Perrone 2, X. García 2 | Goals | N. Janović 2, Ivović 2 | Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Chaney (USA), Tulga (TUR) |
| 18 August 2008 12:10 | Report | Montenegro | 5–5 | Australia | Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Chaney (USA), Caputi (ITA) |
| Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Chaney (USA), Caputi (ITA) |||
| 18 August 2008 12:10 | Report | Vukčević 1, M. Janović 1, Ivović 1, Zloković 1, Gojković 1 | Goals | Campbell 1, Martin 1, McGregor 1, Woods 1, Beadsworth 1 | Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Chaney (USA), Caputi (ITA) |

**Quarterfinal**

| 20 August 2008 16:00 | Report | Montenegro | 7–6 | Croatia | Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Tulga (TUR), Bock (GER) |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Tulga (TUR), Bock (GER) |||
| 20 August 2008 16:00 | Report | N. Janović 2, Ivović 2, Gojković 2 | Goals | Hinić 2 | Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Tulga (TUR), Bock (GER) |

**Semifinal**

| 22 August 2008 18:20 | Report | Hungary | 11–9 | Montenegro | Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Simion (ROU), Tulga (TUR) |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Simion (ROU), Tulga (TUR) |||
| 22 August 2008 18:20 | Report | Kiss 3, Madaras 2 | Goals | N. Janović 2, Uskoković 2, Gojković 2 | Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Simion (ROU), Tulga (TUR) |

**Bronze medal game**

| 24 August 2008 14:20 | Report | Montenegro | 4–6 | Serbia | Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Tulga (TUR), Margeta (SLO) |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Tulga (TUR), Margeta (SLO) |||
| 24 August 2008 14:20 | Report | M. Janović 2 | Goals | Savić 2 | Ying Tung Natatorium, Beijing Referees: Tulga (TUR), Margeta (SLO) |
